The Russian Olympiad is conducted every year as a speaking contest to select and give recognition to students of Russian who demonstrate mastery of the subject appropriate for their level and the ability to use the language with great facility. This year’s Olympiad was hosted at UAlbany by the Russian program of the Department of Languages, Literature, and Cultures. Students from various parts of New York participated in a full day of academic competition for scholarships, awards, and general recognition of excellence.

During the competition, students spoke Russian exclusively within three strictly designated categories or topics: literature, government and culture, and school and lifestyle. For each category, students met with and were assigned different judges. Most of the judges for this year’s competition were professors and staff of UAlbany’s Russian department. Many of the judges were native speakers and/or teachers of Russian. All students who participated had to answer numerous questions in Russian about topics including politics, economics, geography, literature, and culture. Questions were also asked about students’ interests, their school sports, and home and family life.

17 students from Shaker High School competed against a field of more than 80 hand-picked students from various schools throughout the state. Eight were awarded gold medals, eight received silver medals, and one student received a bronze medal.

Congratulations to the following students:

The breakdown of student medalists for the Russian Olympiad was as follows: